Locals Take On the 2024 Paris Olympics

Written by Kaitlin Hill | Artwork by Lydia M.E. Schrader

“We are just thrilled to represent the United States,” shares Barb Roux, owner of St. Bride’s Farm in Upperville. While “we” refers to Roux and her husband, Dave, she echoes the apparent and appropriate patriotism that seems to ripple across the country during the opening ceremony and subsequent competitions. This year, that patriotism hits even closer to home, with athletes — human and horse — and even artists from Hunt Country taking on the Paris Olympics.

For Roux, both her Olympic horse, Baloutinue, and rider, Laura Kraut, have Hunt Country origins. “It’s a nice hometown story because we got the horse from Katie and Henri Prudent, a Middleburg family.” The Prudents own Plain Bay Farm. She adds, “And Laura Kraut used to compete as a child in Upperville.” 

Roux continues, “Katie had worked with Laura in the past and knew she was looking for an Olympic horse. There were a lot of people asking about the horse, but Katie chose Laura.” 

Once Kraut and Baloutinue were paired, “Laura had a very short amount of time to get to know the horse, but she managed that time well. She did her trials while still getting to know the horse, and managed to pull off a team silver with McLain Ward and Jesse Springstein.” 

Kraut is no stranger to the Olympics. Her first were the 2000 games in Sydney. Since then she has won a gold and silver medal for Team Jumping in Beijing 2008 and Tokyo 2020, respectively. Though even with her familiarity with the games and her prior achievements, “I always want the rider and horse to be safe,” Roux says of Kraut’s participation this year. She adds, as a point of pride, “Of course, we would love to medal. That would be the icing on the cake. Laura is, I believe, 58 this year, so she’ll be one of the oldest competitors in the Olympics. It would be so amazing to see her medal again.” 

As for the secret to Olympic success, Roux says, “Laura has assembled such a wonderful team of people — the grooms, the vets, the farriers, the dentist, the chiropractor, the massage therapist. There is such a team involved with keeping these horses healthy and fit for the jobs we are asking them to do. Laura is a very humble person and it is a joy to be around that type of professional that is so accomplished.” 

She finishes, “It is such a tremendous honor … to support this amazing group of people that are riding for us.” 

That sense of pride and honor is certainly shared by Michael Smith and his wife, Wendy, owners of Poplar Grange Farm in Middleburg. This year, Thaisa Erwin will compete with the Smiths’ horse, Hialita B, for Australia. 

“We’re definitely excited,” Michael Smith says. “We put this plan together 18 months ago with Thaisa and to see it come to fruition, and to see her on the team … we’re feeling really good.” 

He’ll also be supporting McLain Ward, a six-time Olympian, representing the U.S. “I’m still part of McLain’s team, so I am excited for the U.S.’s opportunity and his chances as well.” Smith adds with a laugh, “We’ve got two hats in the ring, so to speak!” 

As for his hopes for Erwin and Ward, “We just hope that the horse and rider themselves do very well, have a solid round, and help their team out the best they can.” Like Roux, he adds, “Most importantly we want them to have a safe trip and a great experience in France. … And if we happen to bring a medal home, we’re certainly not going to be disappointed, will we?” 

Of what the Olympics might mean back home, Smith says, “We’re certainly proud to bring this opportunity to Middleburg. It keeps the interest alive for show jumping in this part of Virginia. Our next door neighbor is Joe Fargis, a gold medalist. We have some great people here, like the Rouxs and Laura Kraut. This is a great community that supports show jumping.” 

Local artist Lydia M.E. Schrader is feeling the Olympic excitement and sense of patriotism, too, and channeling it into her art. She says, “The Olympics Collection came about in the way most of my best collections do. My work through the years has chronicled beloved and beautiful places in America — often featuring a modern Americana perspective with American flags and beautiful vistas.” She continues, “When the Olympics were announced in Paris, I knew immediately that I wanted to go for them. While I didn’t take action on making the trip across the Atlantic for this event, I did decide to paint a new Paris Olympics Collection to commemorate the event while I cheered on my country’s team.” 

While watching from home and continuing to paint her collection, Schrader will be rooting for the swimmers due to a connection with the University of Virginia swim team. After including a painting of UVA in one of her online collections, she noticed that the print started to sell rapidly. “When the Paris Olympics Collection launched, an Instagram follower reached out to me and mentioned that she had sent the UVA print to a friend of hers, who happened to be Gretchen and Alex Walsh’s mom, Glynis Walsh.” The sibling duo, both standout stars at UVA, are set to compete in Paris. Schrader adds, “It was so exciting to know I had extra cause to feel a connection with the Olympics this year — with fellow Virginians and five UVA Swim Team girls on the USA Team!” 

In addition to her current Olympic Collection, which includes snapshots of Paris landmarks like the Arc de Triomphe and the Rodin Museum as well as more Olympic-specific pieces like “Stick the Landing” and “Sailing for Gold,” on August 6 Schrader will release more Olympic originals.

Of the project, she concludes, “There is truly nothing more inspiring to me than an American story,” a sentiment that captures the heart of how it feels to support the nation, and even more, members of the Hunt Country community as they compete in Paris. ML

For more of Lydia M.E. Schrader’s art, visit lydiamarieelizabeth.com.